章 119: Chapter 119
"Knock knock knock."
A knock sounded at the door.
Yaoyao quickly ran to open it.
"Mr. Zhongli is here!"
"Yes, sorry to keep everyone waiting."
"Not at all! We just arrived a moment ago!"
Zhongli walked in, calmly greeting everyone with his usual composed expression.
Yaoyao closed the door and ran back to the kitchen.
A moment later, Xia Zhi came out smiling, "Mr. Zhongli has arrived."
"I'm imposing on Mr. Xia."
"Not at all. Now that everyone's here, let's eat."
"Yes!"
The girls helped bring out dishes, with sixteen bowls of food filling two hastily joined tables.
"Would Mr. Zhongli like some wine?"
"No need, I'll have juice like everyone else."
"Alright."
Zhongli accepted a specially made rainbow juice, took a small sip, finding it delightful.
He suddenly thought of an old friend in Mondstadt. If they tried such an unusual drink, would they still be so fond of wine...
Silently shaking his head, Zhongli put down his cup and looked at the newly uncovered steamer on the table, fragrant aroma spreading with the steam.
Inside were translucent crystal shrimp, but unlike the usual preparation, these shrimp were standing upright, resembling rising dragons.
Xiangling was amazed.
"Mr. Xia, this is?"
"Crystal shrimp, though I made some small improvements."
Zhu Zi didn't understand but was deeply impressed.
She picked up one with her chopsticks and took a small bite.
"Mmm~ Delicious!"
Zhongli immediately noticed the dish's ingenuity, and after tasting one, found it better than any crystal shrimp he'd ever eaten.
"It must use two different types of dumpling wrappers, wheat and oat, taking advantage of their different thermal expansion properties."
Xiangling suddenly understood: "Oh, I see! What a brilliant idea!"
Xia Zhi "looked" at Zhongli, noticing that after tasting this glowing cuisine, his diamond progress bar immediately increased by nearly [10%].
"Mr. Zhongli is indeed knowledgeable."
"I can only talk about it, but couldn't make such refined dishes myself."
"Please try the other dishes, Mr. Zhongli. Though they're all famous Liyue dishes, I've made some modifications. I hope they suit your taste."
"Mm..."
"Miss Yanfei, this is tofu we made this morning, please try it?"
"Delicious! This isn't meat, is it?"
"It's fried soybean mince."
"No wonder the flavors blend so perfectly. I love it!"
"I'm glad."
After Zhongli tasted the other glowing dishes on the table, Xia Zhi heard the system's prompt in his mind.
"Progress bar has reached 100%, obtained Diamond Treasure Chest reward."
The second Diamond Chest had finally arrived early.
Xia Zhi glanced at his inventory, thought of the [Hourglass of Time], pondered for a moment, and decided not to open the chest immediately, continuing to serve everyone instead.
After dinner and some casual chat, Zhongli and Madame Ping left together, though Yaoyao stayed behind.
Then Xiangling left with Guoba - Wanmin Restaurant hadn't taken a holiday, and Chef Mao was still busy, so she needed to go help her father.
Xia Zhi called Xiangling back, took a food box from the kitchen and gave it to her, filled with extra portions he'd specially prepared, asking her to take them back for Chef Mao to try.
Xiangling held the heavy food box, feeling warmth in her heart as she thanked him with a smile.
After cleaning up and washing dishes, everyone went out together for a walk.
The streets were especially crowded tonight, and the moon was particularly full.
This was Yanfei and Qiqi's first time participating in such after-dinner activities, and their reactions were completely different.
Yanfei was naturally outgoing and used to dealing with all kinds of people, finding such group outings interesting.
Qiqi preferred quiet and usually walked only in places without people.
Now walking on the crowded, noisy streets, she felt lost and confused, but thankfully, the thoughtful Yaoyao held her hand, giving her some comfort.
The routine was the same as usual, just with fewer new snacks to try, since everyone was too full from the excellent dinner to eat anything else.
They bought beautiful lanterns from the street vendors, each choosing a different style to carry.
Walking to the dock, they waited until late night when the fireworks began.
Tonight's fireworks were especially beautiful.
They lasted especially long.
Xia Zhi looked down at the lights reflecting on the sea surface, smiling.
Like last time, Yaoyao came over to hold Big Brother's hand for comfort.
Qiqi watched, hesitated for a moment, then also came over and silently held Xia Zhi's other hand.
Xia Zhi smiled, gently holding both hands - one cold, one warm.
Kind-hearted little girls were really loveable.
After watching the spectacular fireworks, Ganyu took Yaoyao home. She herself would return to Yujing Terrace to rest - after two days off, tomorrow she would return to her secretarial duties at Yuehai Pavilion.
Qiqi needed to return to Bubu Pharmacy, which was on the same path.
Yanfei also waved goodbye.
"I had a great time today, let's go out together again!"
"Mm."
The three of them slowly walked back to the small shop as usual.
After bathing, Xia Zhi returned to his room, lit the calming incense, and took out the [Hourglass of Time] he'd obtained today.
A small hourglass appeared in his hand.
Xia Zhi examined it for a while, then turned it upside down.
The time sand inside began slowly falling.
Simultaneously, the smoke rising from the incense burner suddenly froze in place.
Time stasis.
Xia Zhi held the hourglass and slowly backed away. When he reached about 3 meters, the incense burner on the table suddenly resumed normal operation, with smoke drifting up again.
Xia Zhi took one step forward, and the incense burner froze once more.
This meant the [Hourglass of Time]'s time stasis range was about 3 meters in radius.
Xia Zhi turned the hourglass right-side up, ending the time stasis. The sand that had fallen began flowing back up, though very slowly.
Returning to the table, Xia Zhi took out a piece of paper, tore it in half, then turned the hourglass upside down.
Time reversal.
The scene before him played out like a video in reverse - the torn paper automatically merged back together, becoming whole again.
Xia Zhi "looked" at the hourglass and noticed the time sand was falling much faster than before.
This meant time reversal consumed much more power than time stasis.
Xia Zhi turned the hourglass right-side up, having basically understood the item's usage methods and effects.
Then he looked at the Diamond Chest in his inventory, took it out, and chose to open it.
A pair of dark gloves appeared before his eyes.
[Shadow Hands]
Quality: Diamond
Type: Special Equipment
Properties: Deadly Poison, Theft, Skill Stealing
Effect: Automatically master poison expertise, become a Poison Grandmaster; When touching others, can obtain any item they carry; When touching others, can randomly learn one of their abilities (24-hour cooldown).
Hidden Effect: Hand skills and invisibility skills effects +100%.
Another special equipment.
The effects were very unique. Although it didn't provide direct godhood abilities like [Wings of Radiance], it offered a "copying" ability with higher potential.
Theoretically, given enough time, he could learn all of Zhongli's abilities.
However, he now had the [Hourglass of Time] and could reverse time to restore the chest to its original state for another try.
He might get something better, but could also get something worse.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Zhi abandoned this idea.
These [Shadow Hands] were good enough - their hidden effect boosted both [Hat of Secrecy] and [Massage Master], and they had excellent growth potential. There was no need to gamble for other possibilities.
Xia Zhi put the [Shadow Hands] into his inventory and equipped them directly.
Special equipment would be equipped to the character panel without appearing in reality, though Xia Zhi could make them visible if he wished.
Knowledge of poisons - making, using, applying, and curing them... all sorts of poison-related knowledge suddenly appeared in his mind.
At the same time, the system's prompt sounded.
"Host has acquired property: Void Breaking."
"[Shadow Hands]' properties Theft and Skill Stealing can be activated at range, no contact required."
Xia Zhi was surprised.
Properties could... combine with each other for additional effects?
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